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Lynn robber had history of theft

LYNN, MA (WHDH) - LYNN, MA (WHDH) – The robber who was shot and killed by police in Lynn early Tuesday morning had a long history of robberies.

Michael McInnis, 41 of Malden, was shot and killed by police officers on Shepard Street early Tuesday morning after robbing $150 from a nearby Gulf gas station.

Sources told 7News that McInnis was recently released from prison and had a long history of robberies.

In 2010, surveillance video that went viral for showing a 75-year-old woman trying to jump in to help a clerk revelead McInnis as the robber.

In the video, McInnis jumps behind the counter to physically force the clerk to give him money.

Lynn Police Department Chief Kevin Coppinger said officers ordered McInnis to take his hands out of his pockets when they encountered him on Shepard Street Tuesday morning, shortly after 4 a.m. McInnis claimed to have a gun when he threatened the gas station clerk, though it is unclear if he was actually armed.

“He refused to do,” Coppinger said of McInnis refusing to take his hands out of his pockets. “[He] continued to come at the officers, they moved back…eventually one of the officers fired his weapon.”

McInnis was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. No police officers were injured but two officers did go to the hospital as part of a standard procedure in shooter situations.

Police spent the morning trying to gather surveillance video and putting markers down along the Lynnway, which was closed for most of the early morning rush hour commute.

Coppinger said the shooting is an open, active investigation.

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